"Two and a Half Men" is officially coming to an end after 12 seasons of laughs and off-screen drama
CBS announced that next season will be the last for "Two and a Half Men." The sitcom, starring Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer, was reportedly the longest-running comedy on television.
According to The Wrap, Network president Nina Tassler made the announcement on Wednesday, with promises that the show's final season will be a "season-long finale event" - similar to the last season of "How I Met Your Mother." "Two and a Half Men's" final run will begin broadcasting in the US in September.
"[Show creator] Chuck Lorre is very psyched about this, he's got some great ideas and very big surprises," Tassler said. "We know fans and audiences respond to that and that should really give us a nice boost when we launch our new comedy."
The network also said it would abandon the concept of midseason and premiere its top shows year-round. In its 11th season "Two and a Half Men" averaged 9 million viewers and 2.3 ratings in the adults 18-49 demo.
"I would like to see whatever Chuck would like to do," Tassler said. "He has assured us that he has a lot of surprises in store. I don't know if that's one of them."
"Two and a Half Men" has been considered a huge hit, despite the high-profile exit of Charlie Sheen in 2010. Sheen was reportedly feuding with Lorre when he publicly slammed the show's creator in various interviews.
During the eighth season of the show, CBS decided to cease production, which was said to have affected around 200 employees and caused an estimated loss of $10 million. The network later terminated Sheen's contract and replaced him with Kutcher.
Kutcher was named the highest-paid actor on TV in October, with a whopping $700,000 earned per episode. Aside from "Two and a Half Men," Lorre has three other series on CBS' line-up: "The Big Bang Theory," "Mom" and "Mike & Molly".
"Two and a Half Men" will ride out its run on Thursdays in the 9 p.m. slot.
